from N

Other related patterns

from N to N

The first noun group comes after the preposition from, and is followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with to. In each case, only one or two noun groups are found after to: these are phrases.Nouns with this pattern belong to the following meaning groups:

The 'head to foot' group

These nouns are used when emphasizing that the whole of something is involved or affected.

She was trembling from head to foot.

from end to end

from head to foot/toe

from stem to stern

from top to bottom/toe

The 'beginning to end' group

These nouns are used to emphasize that the whole of an event or period of time is involved.

I always watch both programmes from beginning to end without quite knowing why.

'History' is the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future.

Other idioms and collocations are used with the same kind of meaning.

'The Spice Route' transports the reader from the dawn of history to the ends of the earth.

from beginning to end

from start to finish

from the cradle to the grave

from the past to the present

The 'rags to riches' group

These nouns are used to indicate that someone or something changes or progresses.

You know, people who go from rags to riches are afraid the good life will be snatched away from them.